U.S. patent number 4,795,897 [Application Number 07/185,357] was granted by the patent office on 1989-01-03 for apparatus for establishing data transfers with a portable electronic card.
This patent grant is currently assigned to U.S. Philips Corp.. Invention is credited to Herve Chalendard.
United States Patent |
4,795,897 |
Chalendard |
January 3, 1989 |
Apparatus for establishing data transfers with a portable
electronic card
Abstract
An apparatus for data transfer with a portable electronic card,
for example a payment card or a credit card. It comprises a housing
into which a card is introduced. When the card is introduced, a
hook is taken along, which is connected to a carriage, which
carries compression springs in the form of laminations moulded from
one piece with the carriage and which press a flexible insulating
foil against the card when due to the introduction of the card the
carriage is lowered to the latter by guiding means. The part of the
film which is pressed against the card carries metallic contact
elements connected through conductive leads to another part of the
same foil, which part carries the electronic elements which ensure
data processing.
Inventors: |
Chalendard; Herve (Bry sur
Marne, FR) |
Assignee: |
U.S. Philips Corp. (New York,
NY)
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Family
ID: |
9332388 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/185,357 |
Filed: |
April 18, 1988 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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16170 |
Feb 19, 1987 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Feb 21, 1986 [FR] |
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86 02401 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
235/482;
439/260 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06K
7/0021 (20130101); G06K 7/0026 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06K
7/00 (20060101); G06K 013/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;235/482 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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0150600 |
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Aug 1985 |
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EP |
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0157035 |
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Sep 1985 |
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EP |
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0167356 |
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Jan 1986 |
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EP |
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2400820 |
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Mar 1979 |
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FR |
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Primary Examiner: Pitts; Harold I.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Briody; Thomas A. Haken; Jack E.
Barschall; Anne E.
Parent Case Text
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 16,170, filed Feb.
19, 1987, now abandoned.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Apparatus for receiving a portable electronic card which
includes at least one integrated circuit with a memory and at least
one internal contact element coupled with the memory, the apparatus
comprising:
a. a housing defining an opening for introducing the card;
b. a slide within the housing, the slide serving as an intermediary
for establishing an electrical connection between the card and a
circuit outside the card;
c. a slope within the housing, the slope being disposed so that the
slide is taken along the slope by insertion of the card;
d. at least one spring carried by the slide; and
e. a flexible insulating foil, carried by the spring, which
flexible insulating foil carries at least one external contact
element, so that the at least one spring presses the at least one
external contact against the at least one internal contact element,
after the card is inserted, to establish data transfer between the
circuit outside the card and the memory of the card, the same at
least one spring being biased between the slide and the flexible
insulating foil during said data transfer.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the flexible insulating foil:
comprises a part which is fixed to the housing, is printed, and
carries essential components of the circuit outside the card.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 further comprises means for coupling to
a control keyboard having metallized flexible foils with a spacer
foil therebetween, the coupling means comprising the fixed part
which comprises at least one of the foils of the keyboard.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one spring and the
slide are formed from one piece.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the at least one spring and the
slide are made of molded plastic.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one spring
comprises means for fixing the flexible insulating foil.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
a. the housing comprises one of: a plurality of pins and a
plurality of slots; and
b. the slide comprises the other of: the plurality of pins and the
plurality of slots, the pins and slots cooperating with each other
to ensure translatory movement of the slide with respect to the
housing; and
c. the apparatus further comprises an elastic hook for ensuring
that the slide is taken along by the card.
8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the slide and the elastic hook
are formed from a single piece.
9. An apparatus adapted to receive a portable electronic card
comprising a housing provided with an opening for introducing the
card, said card being provided with at least one integrated circuit
with a memory with which a data transfer is established after
insertion of the card in the housing by means of at least one
external contact element in the housing being pressed against at
least one internal contact element of the card, said housing being
provided with a slide which is taken along a slope by insertion of
the card and serves as an intermediary for establishing an
electrical connection between the card and a circuit outside the
card during data processing, said slide carrying at least one
spring pressing said external contact element against said internal
contact element, wherein the improvement comprises that said spring
carries a flexible insulating foil which is provided with said
external contact, said spring being biased between said slide and
said flexible insulating foil during said data transfer.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein:
a. the housing comprises one of: a plurality of pins and a
plurality of slots; and
b. the slide comprises the other of: the plurality of pins and the
plurality of slots, the pins and slots cooperating with each other
to ensure translatory movement of the slide with respect to the
housing; and
c. the apparatus further comprises an elastic hook for ensuring
that the slide is taken along by the card.
11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the flexible
insulating foil: comprises a part which is fixed to the housing, is
printed, and carries essential components of the circuit outside
the card.
12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein
the fixed part of the flexible insulating foil is at least one of
the foils of a control keyboard of the apparatus, which keyboard is
of the type having metallized flexible foils with a spacer foil
between them.
13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein the at least one
spring and the
slide are formed from one piece.
14. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the slide and the
at least one spring are made of moulded plastic material.
15. An apparatus as claimed in claim 9 wherein the at least one
spring is provided with means for fixing the flexible insulating
foil.
16. An apparatus as claimed in claim 10 wherein the elastic hook
and the movable part are formed from one piece.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus adapted to receive a portable
electronic card, for example a payment card or a credit card, which
apparatus comprises a housing provided with an opening for
introducing the card, the latter being provided with at least one
integrated circuit comprising a memory by means of which a data
transfer can be established in that the card is inserted into the
housing, the said housing being provided with a movable part which
is taken along by the card and serves as an intermediary for
establishing an electrical connection between the card and a
circuit outside the card during the data processing.
2. Prior Art
Apparatus of the kind defined above are described, for example, in
French Patent Nos. FR-A-445560, FR-A-2415378 and U.S. Pat. No.
3,789,345. According to these patents, the apparatus comprises a
movable part displaced by the introduction of the card and carrying
contacts which will be applied to the card under the influence of a
displacement of the movable part.
In this type of apparatus, the contacts connected to the movable
part are themselves movable and a difficulty is involved in
connecting these movable contacts to an external electronic circuit
fixed to the housing. The connection can be established by flexible
wires, as indicated in French patent No. FR-A-2445560 (Ref. 40 -
FIG. 2B) and in French patent No. FR-A-2415378 (Ref. 4a, 4b, FIGS.
1 and 2). At the stage of manufacture, these devices require that
numerous wires be prepared and the two ends of each wire be
connected, for example by soldering or by means of a connector.
These numerous connections are expensive and they create moreover
possible sources of errors. Another solution is provided by U.S.
Pat. No. 3,789,345, in which laminations (22) connected to the
movable part (10) get into contact with fixed parts (26) at the end
of the path of the movable part. This has the disadvantage that a
supplementary non-soldered contact is introduced, which increases
the risk of false contacts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention has for its object to provide a means for
establishing a connection between the movable contact surfaces
connected to the movable part and to the fixed circuit. The means
should have a very low cost and not introduce any intermediate
connection, which would be a source of false contacts. For this
purpose, the apparatus according to the invention is characterized
in that the movable part is provided with at least one compression
spring, which presses a contact element printed on an insulating
flexible foil against a contact element of the card during data
processing, and in that a part of this foil carrying the said
contact element and printed connections is fixed to the movable
part and is displaced with respect to the housing simultaneously
with this movable part, while another part of the foil is fixed to
the housing.
Advantageously, the part of the insulating flexible printed foil
which is fixed to the housing carries essential components of the
said circuit outside the card. This permits avoiding any
intermediate supplementary connection, which would be a source of
errors and of increase in cost.
The apparatus of the type envisaged in this case often comprise a
control keyboard and the advantages of the invention are then best
utilized if a part of the insulating flexible foil itself
constitutes one of the foils of the keyboard, the latter being of
the type having metallized foils between which a perforated
interposed foil is arranged. Such key boards are described in
numerous patents, among which can be mentioned French patent
application No. FR-A-2400820, European patent application No.
EP-A-0157035 and European patent application No. EP-A-0150600.
In order to simplify the construction of the apparatus, it is
advantageous that the compression spring and the movable part be
formed from one piece. Thus, the movable part being moulded, for
example, from a plastic substance, it is moulded simultaneously
with the springs, as a result of which a step of mounting springs
is economized. In order to ensure an accurate positioning of the
contact element of the flexible foil, means for fixing it are
advantageously carried by the compression springs themselves rather
than by rigid portions of the movable part. Moreover, this
arrangement has the advantage that it involves that the foil slides
a little with respect to the card, which has a self-cleaning
effect.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In order that the invention may be readily carried out, it will now
be described more fully, by way of example, with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
FIGS. 1 and 2 show diagrammatically in sectional view an apparatus
according to the invention, the card and the movable part being in
the rest position and in the data transfer position,
respectively,
FIG. 3 is a lateral sectional view of an embodiment of a part of
the housing,
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the same part,
FIGS. 5 to 7 show the movable part in several lateral sectional
planes,
FIG. 8 shows in plan view the movable part,
FIG. 9 shows the part of the flexible foil which is connected to
the movable part.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1 shows an apparatus according to the invention adapted to
receive a portable electronic card, for instance an identification
card, a payment card or a credit card. This apparatus comprises a
housing 1 provided with an opening 2 for introducing the card 15.
The housing 1 is provided with a movable part 3 or a carriage,
which is taken along by the card 15 by means of an elastic hook 26
which is integral with the carriage and is hooked by the front
end(shown in the lefthand part of the figure) of the card 15 when
the latter is pushed to the interior of the housing. The housing
moreover comprises an electronic circuit 9 to 11 outside the card
fixed to the housing 1.
The carriage 3, which serves as an intermediary for establishing an
electrical connection between the card and the electronic circuit
outside the card, is provided for this purpose with compression
springs 4, which are arranged on the righthand side of contact
elements 5 printed on a flexible insulating foil 6. The carriage 3
is guided so that it remains parallel to itself and approaches the
card at the same time at which the carriage and the card are pushed
together to the bottom of the housing, shown in the lefthand part
of the Figure. These guide means are constituted by, for example,
pins 23 carried by the carriage and slots 24 carried by the housing
cooperating with each other to ensure the translatory movement of
the carriage with respect to the housing. Moreover, a spring 33 is
provided to return the carriage to the rest position.
FIG. 2 shows the same apparatus with the carriage in the working
position, the card 15 being completely inserted into the apparatus,
while the carriage is lowered and the compression springs 4 are
bent and press the film 6 against the card 15. This card, of which
a part is visible in plan view in the righthand part of FIG. 4, is
provided with at least one integrated circuit (not shown)
comprising a memory with which a data transfer can be established
by means of contact connection elements 7 arranged at the surface
of the card, when the latter is introduced into the housing. The
springs 4 consequently press the contact elements 5 of the foil 6
against the contact elements 7 of the card 15, which permits
obtaining the electrical connection required to carry out a data
transfer between the integrated circuit of the card and the
external circuit fixed to the housing.
A part of the foil 6 carrying the contact elements 5 is connected
to the carriage 3 and is displaced with respect to the housing
simultaneously with the carriage, while another part 9 of the foil
is fixed to the housing.
This foil carries printed connections, which will be described with
reference to FIG. 9, to connect the contact elements 5 to the
electronic circuits 9 to 11. Moreover, the part 9 fixed to the
housing directly constitutes a substrate carrying essential
components of the said circuit outside the card. These components
are, for example, miniaturized encapsulated circuits, resistors,
capacitors and other elements indicated diagrammatically by
reference numeral 10, a liquid crystal display device 11 and a
keyboard 12. The latter of a known type is constituted from top to
bottom successively by: a bubbled foil having a distinct click
effect, a flexible insulating foil carrying contacts, an interposed
perforated foil on the righthand side of the contacts of the upper
foil and a second flexible insulating foil carrying contacts
opposite to those of the upper foil. The lower foil is constituted
by a fixed part 9 of the same foil 6, which carries the contacts
for connection with the card and the upper foil is also constituted
by another part folded from the same foil 6, 9. A rigid plate 13 is
arranged below the assembly fixed to the housing by an arbitrary
means in order to support the keyboard 12 and the circuit 9.
The mechanical elements shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 represent in detail
an embodiment of the part of the housing which serves to guide the
card and the carriage. It is constituted by a bottom plate 35
having lateral walls 30 and by a front wall 36 in which the
entrance opening 2 for the card 15 is provided. It moreover carries
two beams 31 and 32 which are hooked to the front at 34 and to the
base plate at 37 and in which the slots 24 are formed. Inclined
parts 25 are provided to permit
readily introducing the carriage between the slots by elastic
flexion of the beams 31 and 32. The card portion indicated in the
righthand part gives the scale of the drawing. It is not useful for
the carriage to have a width of the same order as that of the card.
It is sufficient that it covers the part of the card carrying the
contacts 7.
Therefore, the two beams 31, 32 are arranged on either side of the
position occupied by these contacts when the card is introduced
into the apparatus. The columns 29 serve to hold in place a device
which is not shown and does not form part of the invention intended
to ensure that the carriage stops and to detect the carriage's
arrival at its stopping point .
FIGS. 5 to 8 show several elevations of the carriage 3. The scale
is indicated in FIG. 8; it is larger than that of FIG. 4, in which
the carriage of FIG. 8 has to be introduced between the beams 31
and 32. The carriage is provided with a first group of four
compression springs, one of which is designated by reference
numeral 4, and with two compression springs 41 and 42 between which
further two compression springs are arranged which are identical to
those of the first group. The two springs 41 and 42 are stretched
by a part 22 which interconnects them and carries hooks 18 intended
to fix the flexible foil 6 in the manner shown in FIG. 5. When the
film is fixed in this manner, when the compression springs are
pressed, the hooks 18 take along the film and cause the film to
slide over the card, which ensures a self-cleaning of the contacts.
The film passes through the carriage and extends upwards to the
circuit fixed to the housing and it is fixed to the carriage at
another point by means of pointed pins 20 fixed to a flexible plate
21, which ensures that the foil is stretched between the hooks 18
and the pointed pins 20.
FIGS. 7 and 8 show again the pins 23 and the hooks 26 already
mentioned. The hooks 26 are two in number in order to ensure that
the carriage is taken along symmetrically.
The compression springs are provided with bearings in the form of a
hemisphere or a semi-cylinder in order to concentrate the pushing
force on the foil. All the elements of the carriage, more
particularly the hooks 26, the springs, the bolts 23 and the part
21 are moulded together, for example from polycarbonate.
A stud 27 permits hooking a return spring, of which the other end
is hooked to a similar stud 28 shown in FIG. 4.
The embodiment of the part of the flexible foil connected to the
carriage (shown in FIG. 9) comprises the printed contact elements 5
already mentioned, whose arrangement corresponds to that of the end
of the spring of the carriage 3 and obviously also to that of the
contact elements of the card. It carries metallized leads 16
connected to each of the contact elements 5 and it is provided with
holes 17 ensuring the hooking to the hooks 18 of the carriage and
with holes 19 ensuring the hooking to the pointed pins 20 of the
carriage. It is manufactured, for example, from polyimide having a
thickness of 150/.mu.m.
The apparatus described here requires that the card be introduced
manually and that it be held in position during the data transfer.
Any arbitrary device may be provided to validate this transfer when
the card is in the correct position and only in this case. Of
course the invention may be used in all embodiments of reading
apparatus inclusive of those comprising a motor and pulling
sprockets for introducing the card.
* * * * *